From the author of Forever, Interrupted—hailed by Sarah Jio as "moving, gorgeous, and at times heart-wrenching"—comes a breathtaking new novel about modern marriage, the depth of family ties, and the year that one remarkable heroine spends exploring both.
When Lauren and Ryan’s marriage reaches the breaking point, they come up with an unconventional plan. They decide to take a year off in the hopes of finding a way to fall in love again. One year apart, and only one rule: they cannot contact each other. Aside from that, anything goes.
Lauren embarks on a journey of self-discovery, quickly finding that her friends and family have their own ideas about the meaning of marriage. These influences, as well as her own healing process and the challenges of living apart from Ryan, begin to change Lauren’s ideas about monogamy and marriage. She starts to question: When you can have romance without loyalty and commitment without marriage, when love and lust are no longer tied together, what do you value? What are you willing to fight for?
This is a love story about what happens when the love fades. It’s about staying in love, seizing love, forsaking love, and committing to love with everything you’ve got. And above all, After I Do is the story of a couple caught up in an old game—and searching for a new road to happily ever after.
Paperback, 352 pages
Expected publication:
July 1st 2014
by Washington Square Press
Terri's Thoughts
I won an advanced copy of this novel as part of a Goodreads giveaway in exchange for an honest review. The expected publication date is July 1, 2014.
This is a must read for anyone who is or has been in a relationship for an extended period of time. I am positive that everyone will be able to identify with the evolution of Lauren and Ryan's relationship if not to the extreme extent they did. We have all experienced the thrill and butterflies of new love and then found ourselves wondering where the spark was after time has past.
I myself really enjoyed the first part of the book where we got to experience this transition. From the feelings that the world is rainbows and unicorns to the ho hum and stress of everyday life. Although I love my husband dearly I have felt all of the same emotions Lauren did. Having been married five years now I find myself getting annoyed and angry with how my husband snores, how he insists on watching hockey every Saturday night, the fact that he has to buy soda every time he is at a grocery store regardless of how much we have at home....the list could go on. I found myself giggling as Lauren and Ryan became annoyed with each other as I think everyone who has settled in to the comfort zone feels the same.
This story was moving in how Lauren learned some life lessons when she had to learn to stand on her own two feet. The dynamic of her family was great and I enjoyed all of them from her brother and sister to her grandmother. I found that they gave an added value to the storyline and all in their own way helped her find her way.
I could go on and on however I will try to summarize. If you are looking for an honest portrayal of the evolution of a relationship then this is a story for you. If you are looking for a story that answers the question if love is enough to conquer the difficult times then this story is for you. A story about how love can change and people in love can change....yup that too. Overall I would recommend this to pretty much any female out there who has ever been in a relationship regardless of if it was successful or not.
Also now I think I will go do something nice for my husband. Maybe make him some meatloaf since he loves it so much (yuck)!
About the Author
Taylor Jenkins Reid is an author and essayist from Acton, Massachusetts. Her first novel, Forever, Interrupted, was named one of the "11 Debuts We Love" by Kirkus Reviews. She lives in Los Angeles with her husband, Alex, and their dog, Rabbit. You can follow her on Twitter @tjenkinsreid.
Twitter: tjenkinsreid
No comments:
Post a Comment